Espresso Walnut Cake Recipes

COFFEE WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Place potato in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup cooking water. Mash potato and set aside. Dissolve coffee granules in reserved cooking water; set aside. , In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and mashed potato. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture with 1/2 cup reserved coffee. , Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack., In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, cocoa, vanilla and remaining coffee. Frost cake. Sprinkle with walnuts.

MAPLE-WALNUT ESPRESSO TORTE

Steps:

• Bring all ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until syrup thickens slightly and is reduced to 1 generous cup, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil inside of 8-inch springform pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Blend 2 cups walnuts and matzo meal in processor until nuts are finely ground. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, maple syrup, sugar, and salt in large bowl at high speed 5 minutes. Add espresso, lemon peel, and cardamom and beat until beginning to thicken, about 5 minutes longer. Gently fold in nut mixture in 4 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake torte until brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer torte to rack. Spoon 4 tablespoons syrup over hot torte. Decorate top with walnut halves. Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover remaining syrup and torte separately and let stand at room temperature.)
• Cut around pan sides to loosen torte. Remove pan sides. Cut torte into wedges. Serve with remaining syrup and whipped topping, if desired.
• *Kosher-for-Passover nondairy topping mix is usually available in the frozen foods section of kosher markets and some supermarkets. Prepare it according to directions on the label.

FLUFFY COFFEE AND WALNUT CAKE WITH MOCHA BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Lightly butter three 8"-diameter cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Toast 2 cups (250 g) raw walnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Let cool. Set aside 1 cup walnuts for serving.
• Meanwhile, cook ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, then browns, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or refined coconut oil, melted. Set brown butter mixture aside.
• Pulse remaining 1 cup toasted walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground (it should be the texture of panko). Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 2¼ tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ tsp. baking soda.
• Process 4 large eggs, 1¼ cups (250 g) sugar, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1 tsp. instant espresso powder in food processor (no need to clean bowl) until mixture is lightened in color and thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir 2 Tbsp. whole milk into reserved brown butter mixture. With motor running, gradually stream brown butter mixture into egg mixture and process until combined. Add dry ingredients and process just until a smooth batter forms. Divide batter among prepared pans.
• Bake cakes, rotating pans front to back after 15 minutes, until puffed and just starting to pull away from the sides of pans and a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks and let cakes cool 15 minutes. Run a small knife around edges of each cake to release from pan if needed. Turn out cakes onto racks and remove parchment paper; discard. Turn cakes right side up and let cool completely.
• Combine 8 large egg whites, 2¼ cups (450 g) sugar, ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¼ tsp. cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set over a medium saucepan filled with 1½" of simmering water (bowl should not touch water). Heat, stirring and scraping often with a heatproof rubber spatula, until sugar is dissolved and an instant-read thermometer registers 185°, 10-15 minutes.
• Fit bowl onto stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high, until meringue is shiny and stiff, 8-10 minutes. Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
• With mixer on medium speed, add 3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, a piece at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding more. Once all the butter has been added, increase speed to high and beat 1 minute. Transfer buttercream in bowl to refrigerator and chill 30 minutes.
• Fit bowl with buttercream back onto stand mixer and add ¼ cup (21 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if needed, and 2 tsp. instant espresso powder. Beat on medium-low speed, scraping down sides as needed, until combined.
• Using a large serrated knife and long sawing strokes, remove tops of cakes to level if needed. Place a cake layer, right side up, on a cake stand or large plate. Using an offset spatula, spread ¼ cup buttercream over cake, working all the way to the edges. Place second cake layer, right side up, on top; spread another ¼ cup buttercream over cake, working all the way to the edges. Place third cake layer, cut side down, on top, and press lightly to adhere. Spread top and sides of cake with ½ cup buttercream in a thin, even layer. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours. (If chilling cake longer than 1 hour, cover remaining buttercream in bowl and chill. Bring to room temperature and beat again before using.)

ESPRESSO-WALNUT BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line the pan with aluminum foil; spray foil with cooking spray.
• Place walnuts on a baking sheet.
• Toast walnuts in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Leave oven on.
• Sift flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl. Stir in coffee. Set aside.
• Fill a saucepan 1/3 of the way full with water and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Place butter and chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl and set the bowl over the simmering water. Reduce heat to low and stir chocolate mixture frequently until completely smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove bowl from heat and stir in sugar. Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture just until absorbed; stir in toasted walnuts. Pour batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a crust forms on top and center is still slightly gooey, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack to cool to completely, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate 2 hours to overnight; cut into squares.

WALNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius. Grease an 8-inch/20-centimeter springform pan with oil or butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place egg yolks and muscovado sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, if using a hand-held electric mixer). Whip on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until pale and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add walnuts, lemon zest and salt and mix well to combine.
• Clean and dry the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment, then add egg whites to bowl. Whip on high speed for 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, fold egg whites into the walnut mixture a third at a time; the mixture will be thick and quite difficult to bring together at first but will gradually loosen, so the final addition of whites lightens the batter considerably.
• Pour batter into pan and bake for 40 minutes, until evenly puffed. This is a moist cake, so a skewer inserted inside should not come out completely dry and clean. Let cake cool for 5 minutes, then release it from the pan. (You may need to run a small knife around the edge.) Carefully flip over cake, remove pan bottom and paper, and flip again to transfer it to a large plate. Brush surface with amaretto and then leave to cool completely.
• While cake is cooling, make the caramelized walnuts: Sprinkle sugar evenly over the bottom of a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook gently for about 6 minutes, swirling pan but resisting the urge to stir, until you get a medium brown syrup, the consistency of maple syrup. Add walnuts and quickly stir them into the syrup until coated. Pour nuts onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spread in a single layer, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Once cool and hardened, roughly chop into 1/2- and 1-inch/1- and 2-centimeter pieces.
• To serve: Add cream and sugar to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a large bowl and a hand-held whisk). Whip on high speed for 1 minute, or until firm and fluffy. When cake has cooled, spread cream over surface and then scatter with caramelized walnuts.